The City Lord

While Mike was spending his fourth month in the Throne Room, the Girls were managing the Casino to newer heights. With a virtually endless supply of gold at their disposal, the city around the castle was purchased, renovated and rented out. Many houses were built according to a drawing Mike had left in the study. He had circled out a pattern he wanted them to look like from above. The entire city would be shaped like a star, with the Lone Stars Casino eventually at its center.

The houses were pretty and some were even decorated with Stars, by the end of the month most houses in the City had at least one Star symbol and the roads were paved. Vella paid extra special attention to Mike's desire to drive his truck again. The roads were smooth and hard packed. It wasn't for Mike specifically, but it sure helped the community. Standardization of utensils and tools became a booming trade. With so many boats arriving, the town had a boundless future.

"Has there been any change in the Throne Room?" Vella asked Rissa.

Rissa had been the last one down, it was quiet and after four months, the girls had even brought a bed down there for them to rest on. They would have all decided to stay down in the hole if not for the Casino and Mike's ambition. "He hadn't regained any color, but the roots are still pulsing light into him"

"I know he's going to be okay.. he had to be. We'll just have to keep up what we're doing. I really like how we've become more reliant on ourselves. I don't want to think about what would have happened if we hadn't been given to him all those months ago." Rissa started to think to herself after talking, she couldn't get the thought of Mike out of her head. It was both a teasing sensation and a painful memory that nearly brought her to tears whenever she thought about him.

"I'll go check on him later tonight, its Mona's turn to keep watch." Vella was really taking charge of the situation and doing all she could, but it was weighing on her. She had probably been waiting for centuries, eons even, to emerge from the rock to meet with her Master. Now that she had, it would be poor manners to just abandon him. Her devotion to her post and position was commendable.

Harry went to take a nap before the show started, he was excited, it was finally his own bed. The girls had all roomed in the one house, the pile of women never stopped increasing. After a while there was no room for Harry. The second month that Mike was gone, they had started building his house. All the doorways were big enough for him to enter and exit without being knocked into every time he took a step.

The house they had built for him stood almost exactly where Mike had incinerated the original. The route between the gates and the Casino was cleared and the road were wide enough for a platoon of soldiers and a full defensive position.

In some ways, the Casino was better defended than the Castle. The tight security even made the Lord in charge of the lands a bit nervous, his own guards had been known to moonlight as Casino security when large ships or convoys would come to port.

"Sir, Another group of Diplomats from Des'ule have arrived at the docks. They fly their flag as representation. Shall I arrange for an invitation for them?" One servant asked the Lord.

"Yes, send someone to greet them. When they have made it to the Castle, inform me. I will attend them myself." The lord was pleased that ambassadors had come from such a long way. Pleased with himself for having such a strong position in the state, The Castle's Lord readied himself for their arrival.

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One of the Castle servants had a messenger escorted by the city guards to the docks, he was to deliver a message. However, when he arrived they only had one response. Speaking clearly so that translation wasn't incorrectn they only spoke one word. "Casino"

The Guards knew the way and were mostly happy to guide them but the castle messenger was furious. He had been completely ignored, discarded even. The ambassadors had left with the guards, the messenger stopped in front of the diplomats with his arms extended.

He was holding the invitation from the Lord. They eyeballed it briefly, spoke to each other in their native tongue and picked it up to read. One of the diplomats knew the language, so they explained to the others. They put the letter into their pocket and continued on their way without saying another word to the Castle Messenger.

Left in an even more awkward position, the Messenger returned to the Castle to explain what had happened, his face twitched the entire time. Screams of terror came and went from within the Castle, a small group of soldiers readied for combat were prepared to escort the Lord to the Casino.

'Don't think that you can take this Kingdom from me!' The Goger's City Lord got angry, throwing his cup to the side he made his way to the gates.

The Casino had actually been kind enough to give the City Lord five percent kickback of all the earnings, but it wasn't enough in his eyes. The City Lord felt like he was being usurped and his eyes were filled with flickers of hate.

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The Underground lighting was atrocious, Mona was watching Mike. She laid quietly while reading some of the books they had laying around in the tomb. The cleaning spell had been used so many times they were all dizzy. It was sickening to think about how people managed before cleanup spells, the girls dared not reminisce.

Lighting was off and on inside the Throne Room, Mike had scattered the gold coins to distract the Giant Skeleton but he really only threw about fifty. Fifty coins was not enough to light up a room, it barely marked the border of the stage.

In quiet contemplation over why the Titans had stopped working on him, Mike tried to move again. He noticed immense pain when he tried. Their initiation of the power transfer wasn't something he would do again, but it was a good thing that he had given consent. The Titans finally came back to speak.

'You are awakening. Good, we have work and we cannot stop. If we stop once more, all will be lost.' Fifth Titan spoke. Her voice trembled a bit as if it was waning gently in the passing of moments.

'We are not long in this world, your time to assimilate this knowledge will depend on your own devices. If you cannot master the content, you will fail, and you will eventually die.' Fourth Spoke, and then Third began to speak.

'No matter the cost, We will not fail. To lose the Legacy of Titans would be a loss to history. Respect the knowledge and accept our teachings.' Third sounded like he was being ominous and it worked. Mike felt a sense of dread wash over his consciousness

Second Titan started to interject.

'Your power is arriving, over time you will be unmatched. buried in our bodies are the secrets to building yours in the future, cherish them well and waste not.'

'The ability we grant thee'

'WE FIVE TITANS'

'Give this knowledge'

'Give this heritage'

'Give this world'

'To thee' Second finished speaking and was interrupted by First.

First's voice burst out in a crazed roar, his final sounding before his death.

'PREPARE YOURSELF! THERE IS NO RETURN' They all sounded in unison.

A strong pulsation of light started to move, slowly at first but the speed just kept increasing and time was distorted by another ten times. Mike's body started to morph and change, returning back to its original look.

Sometimes he was green, others he was purple. Once he had fur and another scales, Mike was changing at a phenomenal rate and the light show in the Root was enough to alarm Mona.

She yelled out to the other Girls, hoping for a reply from outside of the tunnel but no one was answering. The Casino had probably opened, they were likely busy inside. Mona couldn't abandon Mike. If he awoke and no one was around he would probably feel abandoned.

Mona didn't know what to do for a moment, but she laughed at her hesitation and wrote a note to place on the bed. "I went to get the others, I'll be right back" was all the note said.

Rushing to the ladder, Mona could hear a bunch of yelling outside of the Casino. People started to generate a lot of noise.

There was a fight going on and the smell of blood was in the air.

At the top of the ladder Mona could see the guests inside the Casino gathering for protection, they were not interested in being involved in the dispute. Thinking that some guests were out of line, Mona quickly sprang into action and met up with the others.

"Mona!" Jodi shouted while she dodged a punch from a guard. One of the guards had tried to switch sides in the the middle of the fight, the City Lord offered them more money if they helped get rid of the girl in charge.

"What's going on? Why aren't you with Mike?" Jodi cried out in panic.

"Did something happen?" Jodi finished her questions and tossed the man to the side. Taking his sword she plunged it into his chest and stared at the City Lord. Jodi had never taken a life before, she was panting and angry at everything that was happening.

"VELLA!" Mona shouted but couldn't located Vella.

"What happened, Cara! Explain to me what's going on." Mona took a stool and cracked it over a guards head. She could feel something come close to her neck. Dipping to the side, she dodged and kicked her attacker away.

"The City Lord doesn't like our influence, he wants it for himself. His guards just tried to kill Vella, Harry and Vella led most of them away toward the port." Cara explained and when the final guard inside was unconscious, they barred the door.

"Everyone, Stay calm. We've blocked the entrance and our people are still outside. Please remain calm." Cara motioned to the new recruits and had them pass out drinks.

The Guests were pleased with the manner that the Casino took to protect them but everyone was a little displeased at the situation as a whole. The City Lord was bloodthirsty, it left a bad taste in the mouths of the Townsfolk.

It should be said that the Des'ule Ambassadors had experienced their fair share of battle, both at sea against the Otera and the Pirates that sailed the same waters. When they noticed the coordination between the girls, these women, who were defending the Casino from armed soldiers.

They were simply amazed with every move they displayed. Some of them clapped, but no one got involved. It could become larger issue and get out of hand.

The girls were tactile and gentle, They even tried to spare the ones that really didn't have a heart in the assault. Mercy was given without reason, but all they cared about was their customers and the people who were being terrorized inside by the mess brought by the City Lord.

"You're going to pay for all the damages that you and your people have created today." A voice boomed out above the crowded street. Guards stopped on both sides and looked to the sky. Vella was channeling an ability the girls hadn't seen. Vella wasn't channeling her charm spell, it was an attack.

After some minor mumbling in an obscure tongue, Vella charged the beam and released her attack directed it at the the City Lord. The beam melted the street and the guards that were not fast enough soon found themselves embedded in molten rock, screaming from incineration.

"I told you before, you will pay for what you've done today. How dare you disrespect Master!" Vella raised her hand and pointed it directly at the City Lords head.

His head kept expanding, his skull kept growing and when his head was too big his neck snapped. The City Lord, had died on the spot.

When his body hit the floor, the guards around him laid their weapons to the ground and surrendered. "Take them to the City Lords Manner and lock them in the dungeon." Vella had the Casino Guards escort the survivors to the dungeon in the basement of the Castle.

There in a locked room, Vella started to interrogate the former City Lord. She had a number of questions and no one was going to stand in her way.

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Cara knocked on the Casino Door, signaling the all Clear from the outside. The west gate guards that were not on patrol, locked the town down and started to route out the remnants of the City Lords loyal lackies. Within 15 minutes they covered a lot of the City. The City Lord had fifty loyal men but the Casino had the entire town behind them.

Vella was just too intense to publicize, otherwise the City Lord probably would have brought more soldiers, perhaps even an army.

Cara stood in the doorway and spoke with a loud voice. "We've defeated the City Lords forces, the City is under our control. Mister Ambassador, When you decide you're ready to conduct business, you no longer need to visit the Castle. You can come directly to our Offices at the Casino." Cara knew what to do and say. Vella had been reciting what to say during their late nights for the past month. Only now did she really understand how things were changing around her.

"Cheers!" The Des'ule Ambassadors raised their glasses and dropped another bet on the table.

"Winner!" March lost the hand but it was good timing. The players smiled, took their winnings and broke the tension.